We understand why Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has declared war on fantasy-sports sites: There’s headlines to be had in going after the enormously successful DraftKings and FanDuel.
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Schneiderman’s office did not immediately comment on the motion. Any communication from Schneiderman to DraftKings and FanDuel service providers, he said, were “our advisory opinion about the law”.
FanDuel, based in New York, said on its website Friday that it would stop allowing new deposits from New York and will limit access to New York customers while the company pursues “the opportunity to be heard in court”. On Monday, a FanDuel spokesman said that the site was three days behind in paying players who’d requested withdrawals by check, and two days behind withdrawal requests via Paypal.
Schneiderman has argued the games constitute illegal gambling in NY, and both companies have sued Schneiderman in an attempt to block his order.
This month, Schneiderman used a novel application of a state securities-fraud law to press energy companies to be more up front about the business risks of climate change. He said the temporary restraining order is necessary to give DraftKings time to make its case in court.
This segment, like a lot of John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight’s segments, has spelled out in layman’s terms what fantasy sport sites are and why they’re doing what they’re doing when it comes to congress and certain states. The companies argue the attorney general doesn’t have the authority to prevent New Yorkers from playing daily fantasy sports. When he rejected a nationwide settlement with major banks that would have shielded them from future investigations, he got booted from an attorney generals’ negotiating committee but got kudos from liberal groups.
Strockyj is a New York-based attorney and legal commentator.
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FanDuel says it will further chop its Sunday Million guarantee by $500k to $2.5m for Week 11, while cutting the first prize payday from $500k to $300k. With fantasy sports, the players’ actions are subject to as many variables as picking a victor against the spread. The companies typically return most of that money to players as prizes, keeping a fee of about 10 percent.
